That Didn't Take Long: UK MP Decides To Put The Blame For The Sony Hack On ISPs, Obviously

from the obviously dept

Well, that Sony hack that has alternatively been blamed on everyone from disgruntled ex-employees to current Sony employees to freaking North Korea is getting stranger. Most of the strangeness, or at least eyebrow-raising content, comes from some of the files pulled in the hack that are being distributed throughout the internet. Most notably, a 25GB torrent is making the rounds that purportedly includes everything from executive salaries, employee identifying information and compensation packages, and early comments on the torrent file that were postulating theories as to how all this happened appear to have been coming from Sony-linked addresses. It seems all too facile at this point to publically speculate that some very embarrassing information about internal Sony dealings will be coming to light in the coming days.

Perhaps the least noteworthy result of the hack is the release of some Sony films onto the internet, where they have been downloaded in somewhat large numbers.

As first reported here on TF, following the hacks last week several unreleased Sony movies leaked online. Fury, featuring Brad Pitt, was by far the highest profile and today we can confirm that the title has been downloaded by BitTorrent users more than a million times.

A million times on a torrent available worldwide? Meh. Still, everyone had to know that the making available of Sony films was not a crime that would go unnoticed by the industry, nor by the politicians they've bought that independently favor the entertainment industry. And since those politicians aren't in any way interested in grandstanding or blaming the wrong people, you can imagine how carefully they've taken their aim to blame the appropriate parties for the crimes inflicted upon Sony.

Mike Weatherley MP, the recent IP advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron, has published several piracy reports including one earlier in the year examining the advertising revenue on pirate sites. He believes that companies with no direct connection to the hack or subsequent leaks should shoulder some blame.

“Piracy is a huge international problem. The recent cyber-attack on Sony and subsequent release of films to illegal websites is just one high-profile example of how criminals exploit others’ Intellectual Property,” Weatherley writes in an email to TF. “Unfortunately, the theft of these films – and their subsequent downloads – has been facilitated by web-hosting companies and, ultimately, ISPs who do have to step-up and take some responsibility.”

Got that? Piracy, a huge international problem, shouldn't be dealt with directly. Instead, this enormous, mega-large super-problem should be indirectly tackled by forcing parties that took no part in the crimes to do...well, what exactly? Because this is the UK we're talking about, where ISPs are already proactively blocking so-called infringing sites, and it hasn't done a whole lot of good, since those blocks are easily subverted by proxies and other easily accessible methods. So what should ISPs, who've already cooperated thus far, be forced to do now?

The only answer from MPs like Weatherley appears to be: "MOAR!" Absent from his speech is any actual content, by which I mean solution. What does he want ISPs to do? More. More of what is already not working, the blocking of sites? Yes. How should this be done? Silence. Why would this be more effective than what's being subverted today? Silence. Why? Because Weatherley likely knows that he's pushing for something that doesn't make sense.

Overall, it’s clear that forcing technology companies into shouldering blame for the actions of others is a difficult game and one that has yet to make any noticeable dent in piracy volumes. Still, that won’t stop rightsholders pursuing claims against them and influential characters like Weatherley pushing for reform.

Easier than going after the actual criminals or pushing for business model reform, I suppose.

Filed Under: blame, hack, isps, mike weatherly, north korea, uk
Companies: sony pictures

That Huge Sony Hack May Have Been North Korea Retaliating Against James Franco And Seth Rogen

from the wait...really? dept

You may have heard recently that Sony Pictures experienced what the company called a "system disruption" and what everyone else referred to as "Oh, look, Sony employees are completely locked out of their own computers." In place of a normal, working computer, Sony employees found poetic words and subtle imagery. Just kidding, it looked like an amateurish metal band CD insert artist vomited a splash page all over the screen.

It's fairly likely that the GOP claiming responsibility for the hack wasn't Karl Rove in his mother's basement and there was little early speculation on who they in fact were, beyond the "Guardians of Peace" name the hackers claimed. While it's not yet confirmed, reports are that the internal investigation Sony is conducting is eyeing none other than North Korea.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is exploring the possibility that hackers working on behalf of North Korea, perhaps operating out of China, may be behind a devastating attack that brought the studio’s network to a screeching halt earlier this week, sources familiar with the matter tell Re/code. The timing of the attack coincides with the imminent release of “The Interview,” a Sony film that depicts a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. The nation’s ever-belligerent state propaganda outlets have threatened “merciless retaliation” against the U.S. and other nations if the film is released.

Oh, North Korea. Look, if this was you, I'll certainly agree that forcing anyone to look at that garish screenshot above likely qualifies as "merciless retaliation," but I dare say it's probably not going to be all that effective. And should you be found out to be behind this, having the entire planet laugh at your complete lack of sense of humor probably doesn't take the sting out of the fact that you can't feed your own people, despite having a self-proclaimed necro-deity still technically heading up the government.

And to have this reaction over a Hollywood film and then add your own cliffhanger is downright ironic.

"Hostile forces" are casting blame on North Korea, said a spokesman for the country's mission at the United Nations, according to the Reuters news agency. "I kindly advise you to just wait and see."

In the meantime, this is generating so much free publicity for The Interview, one wonders if Pyongyang is serving as a Sony marketing consultant.

Admittedly, whoever did do the hack seems to have really shaken up Sony Pictures (which appears to have had almost no real security at all), as it is rumored to have resulted in the leak of a few upcoming movies and a treasure trove of HR info, including some embarrassing info. Whether or not it's North Koreans angry about a Rogen/Franco flick, or something else, it's not making anyone look very good right now.

Filed Under: guardians of peace, hack, james franco, north korea, seth rogen
Companies: sony, sony pictures

North Korean Megaweapon: Malware In Games, Porn

from the duke-nuclear-power? dept

Sharing time: I'm quite afraid of a lot of things in this life. Clowns, for instance, as well as female cats that just had kittens. Oddly, the Harris Bank lion has scared me since my childhood. Very small rocks. The American South. But, honestly, I'm not afraid of North Korea. Their threats tend to amount to piss-poor photoshopped pictures and videos that might be terrifying if their own enemies hadn't produced the footage for them. Now, I get that North Korea's government is a horrible threat to its own people and I dream nightly of the day when those people will be freed from their current leader and his never ending Bond-villain impression, but they just don't feel all that threatening to me. Why? Well, because their threats always seem to amount to a dud bottle-rocket, relatively speaking.

Take the latest dire warning out of South Korea, for instance, which amounts to reviled North Korean hackers trying to insert malware into software produced in North Korea for use in DDoS attacks.

In the latest criminal case, a North Korea hacker disguised himself as a software developer and offered to make online gaming programs for the arrested South Korean businessman at much cheaper prices than South Korean software developers, the NPA official said.

The North Korean-developed gaming programs, for which “thousands of dollars” had been paid by the arrested South Korean businessman, were all confiscated before spreading online, he said, adding if the programs had been developed by South Koreans, the price tag would have been much higher.

Er, okay, so "thousands of dollars" were spent by a South Korean on North Korean programming that went nowhere and then the South Korean was arrested. And, yes, South Korea is occasionally the target of DDoS attacks that likely come from the North, but so what? Nobody is buying North Korean games en masse, should such things even exist. And, while I'm sure they have some talented techno-mancers in North Korea, why would using their programmers to produce games when that practice is illegal and likely better talent exists elsewhere ever become a trend?

Now -- and this is just a crazy out there suggestion -- but what if those North Korean programmers actually made a game worth some money, distributed it to those countries still willing to do business with them, and then, oh, I don't know, used the income to feed their own people on occasion? I know that doesn't make you a super-cool mega-villain, Supreme Leader, but at least it'd be more effective than constantly cleaning the egg off your face.

Filed Under: malware, north korea, south korea, video games

International Crisis: North Korea Is Getting Even Worse At Photoshop

from the fake-it-until-you-make-it dept

There's something of a saying that goes "fake it 'til you make it." The idea is that you look and act as though you've already achieved some goal. For instance, let's say you want to graduate from that annoying weird nation all the other nations put up with but kind of hate to a big boy nation where everyone respects and fears you. Well, North Korea has been faking it 'til they make it. The problem is that they suck at faking it. They fake being an existential threat to America using video game footage and soundtracks. But threatening America is the big time, requiring big, complicated faking-it efforts. What about the little stuff? Say, head of party Kim Jong-un's required appearance for the opening of a children's hospital?

Er, that's an interesting picture. I really like the way the people in the picture pop, you know? Perhaps it's because of the colors, or maybe it's because this is one of the worst attempts at photoshopping I've ever seen.

But did you look at the shadows and the lighting? The figures appear to be superimposed—something that internet commenters in China were quick to notice. Online in neighboring Japan, amused internet commenters showed how easy it was to add individuals to this scene.

Oh well, back to being the weird kid, North Korea. Maybe when you learn to lie like the rest of the world you can come back and play with our toys.

Filed Under: north korea, photoshop, propaganda

Companies Request Special Permission From Feds To Register Intellectual Property In North Korea

from the is-that-really-a-wise-use-of-your-time? dept

The folks over at NPR's Planet Money recently did a fun podcast discussing requests by US companies for permission to route around the sanctions imposed by the US government on North Korea in order to do business with North Korea. This came about after Planet Money got back a bunch of documents from a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request revealing the letters that various companies sent to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, basically begging for exceptions to the sanctions. The podcast mostly focused on the "novelty" items -- the guy who wanted to buy a single pair of North Korean jeans for his wife, the company that wanted to import North Korean beer, the stamp trading company that wants North Korean postage stamps because they're so rare, etc. But at the end of the podcast, they mention that among the stuff they didn't cover, were requests having to do with... intellectual property.

That got me interested, and so I went through the whole file and found that, indeed, there were a few requests from companies and lawyers who talked about the need to "protect their intellectual property" in basically every single country possible, so they wanted to be able to do so in North Korea as well. Leading the pack is Intel, who basically asks permission to secure its famed trademark in North Korea.

Intel respectfully requests that pursuant to 31 CFR Parts 50! and 510, OFAC provide a Specific License to Executive Order l35?O' Authorizing Intel Corporation and its appointed agents including Novak Druce Quigg LLP, to engage in all transactions to pursue, obtain, and maintain protection for Intel's trademarks and trademark rights in North Korea, and to remit funds to the Government of North Korea and other persons in North Korea in connection therewith, so long as such persons are not on the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN)

All I can think is: what an incredible waste of time and money. It's not as if securing a trademark in North Korea means anything. This just seems to be a law firm trying to check off boxes in every single country possible, and being able to bill extra hours back to Intel. First of all, why does Intel care about protecting its trademarks in North Korea when it can't sell its chips into North Korea in the first place?

Of course, the only story we've had in the past about North Korea and intellectual property was back last year when WIPO got into some serious trouble for running a highly questionable program, defying UN sanctions in order to ship computers to North Korea, because some really clueless individuals at WIPO were sure that North Korea would use those computers to set up a database of worldwide patents to make sure that they weren't infringing on things (no, seriously) and didn't even think that the North Korean government might want those computers for other purposes (and not give a damn about what patents anyone held anywhere in the world). Somehow, I doubt that trademark protection is a major issue in North Korea either.

There's another, similar, request from big time law firm Kirkland & Ellis for a redacted client which goes even further -- claiming they're looking to protect "patents, trademarks and/or copyrights" in North Korea. Because North Korea is going to respect any of those? Really? I particularly love this line of reasoning:

In view of these general licenses and the general favorable policy toward authorizing IP protection-related activities they indicate, as well as OFAC's general favorable policy toward authorizing many legal services and the fact that protection of intellectual property rights of US companies is consistent with important US economic interests KTS requests OFAC's expedited approval of this request. Undue delay in providing such authorization could result in loss of important IP protection and related negative consequences...

Wait, seriously? If they can't get their trademarks, patents and copyrights in North Korea -- a country that we can't otherwise do any business with and who doesn't care at all about our trademarks, patents and copyrights -- there will be a "loss of protection"? No, there won't be any protection, because that doesn't happen in North Korea and it doesn't matter in the first place.

A similar argument is made by another law firm, Hogan Lovells:

Our U.S. and global clients wish to maintain their intellectual property protection in all countries including, as needed, sanctioned countries such as North Korea.

Later, they claim:

We are not aware of a policy reason to prohibit companies from fully protecting their intellectual property in North Korea...

Well, perhaps because it's entirely pointless and a complete waste of time, effort and money?

It really seems like this is the kind of thing that happens when you come at the world with a mindset that the legal "thing" -- a patent, a trademark or a copyright -- is the most important part of any invention, product or content, rather than the wider ecosystem and market that you're dealing with.

Filed Under: copyright, intellectual property, north korea, patents, trademarks

What I Learned About My Own Daily Life From The Latest North Korean Propaganda Video

from the pigeons-are-delicious dept

Update: As pointed out in the comments... this is a hoax. The video is real, but the translation is made up for the sake of comedy value. Considering that Monday is April Fool's Day, where a bunch of people are going to be trying to fool others, let's just consider this a "lesson learned" and hope that we're not repeating this message again on April Fool's posts... Original post below...

I find myself in the peculiar position of having to congratulate one of my old nemeses in writing for Techdirt, North Korea. I would have thought, after having described their previous attempts at producing propaganda videos, one of which included Elder Scrolls music and the other Call Of Duty footage, that they had exhausted the human limits for laugh-inducing hilarity. As it turns out, if I'm to believe the translator of the following video, these were merely warm up acts for the true star of North Korean humor, which details daily life in America.

Now, should a mere YouTube video reach the limits of your workplace's filtering device, or that of your country, allow me to present to you some of the things I learned about my own life thanks to this wonderfully produced video.

1. All of America is covered in snow, which is a good thing because apparently all American coffee is somehow made from snow.

2. Americans, by and large, live in tents and spend all of our money buying guns to kill children.

3. There are no longer birds in America, because they have all been eaten by the gun-toting tent-dwellers.

4. It is common in modern-day America for our tents to have caved in roofs (?), but we are still proud of our tents, as well as our Green Bay Packers Starter jackets.

5. Before we stray away from our tents, note that all of them are built with supplies donated to us by North Korea.

6. Before we stray away from our propensity to eat birds, note that the most common day for the eating of birds is Tuesday.

7. Homeless people, in general, are former Republican candidates from Oregon.

8. America is very grateful to our government for the 1 cup of snow-coffee handout we all receive daily, after which we resume bird-eating and child-killing activities.

Now, should you be of the same mind as I in that you're beginning to wonder why you can't recall all of these moments in your daily life, it is useful to remember that North Korea is a country which has a dead person as its President. This is not an exaggeration. As you can see for yourself, while Kim Jong-un is indeed the country's First Chairman, neither he nor his father ever held the office of President of North Korea. That position was, and to this day is, filled by Jong-un's grandfather, Kim Il-sung, who has been dead for nearly two decades, but holds the office of "Eternal President".

I submit that no amount of pigeon-eating or tent-dwelling can hold a candle the level of crazy required to have a zombie President.

Filed Under: north korea, propaganda, us

North Korean Propaganda: Now With More Elder Scrolls!

from the oblivion-or-oblivious? dept

Well, it's been a couple of days, so I guess it's time to update you on the latest version of North Korean propaganda that tries to impress our sense of humor. You should recall that the reclusive nation released a bizarre video about the coming destruction of New York City, complete with video game footage from Modern Warfare 3. That was followed up by their brothers-in-dumb, the Iranian government, who thought the best way to show off their new flying machine was to photoshop its image over a mountain, rather then show it actually...you know...flying.

Well, North Korea is back at it, with another odd video, with all the effeminate flame animations you've come to expect and text that I sure as hell can't read. With that said, I'm sure the text says something about how the North Koreans have developed the latest in orc technology and elven code systems, being as how they decided to use the soundtrack for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to set the mood.

I'd like to take this moment to offer a small bit of advice to my friends in Pyonyang. If you put a video out on YouTube to tell the rest of the world how crazy awesome powerful you are, so much so that you're going to smash America, part of that video should be to demonstrate that you can come up with an inspirational tune. I mean, if you can't even put together something like Call Me Maybe, it's kind of difficult to take your plans for our destruction seriously.

In the meantime, hey Bethesda? You guys want to DMCA this or are you laughing as hard as I am?

Filed Under: elder scrolls, north korea, propaganda

North Korea Threatens To Nuke US With Copied Video Game Footage

from the so-is-that-infringement? dept

If you happened to check your favorite major news site in the past 24 hours, you probably already know about this incredibly strange video North Korea's state media has been running, in which a peacefully sleeping Korean man dreams of a nuclear rocket detonating on American soil while Korean text is overlayed and Michael Jackson's "We Are The World" plays in the background.

Awww, we think about you when we're dreaming, too, you guys!

Now, since I can't translate Korean, I can only assume the text amounts to some kind of assertion that Michael Jackson was taken long before his time by a massive American military plot and that a nuke up our rectums will be issued as retribution. Really, who can tell? But I'll tell you what I can translate, and that's video game footage. I say this because it turns out that North Korea, in the tradition of the Chinese Air Force, apparently decided to simply yank a bunch of nuke footage from Modern Warfare 3 to use in this wonderfully disturbing bit of propaganda. This side by side will show you the rip.

Essentially, that terribly frightening part where New York is ablaze is all from MW3, with an additional explosion or two added along side a grainy filter and 'Ol Glory. For most normal people in The States, their reaction to this is probably, "So what?" But I know Techdirt readers aren't all in the States, nor are they normal, so I'm sure amongst your first thoughts was, "Hey! That's copyright infringement!" Well, the Forbes post got our juices flowing with this:

UPDATE: Activision actually DID have it killed, which is sort of hilarious.

America! So mark today as the day that copyright saved us all... And you people say we never have anything good to say about... Oh, wait... it turns out that the original video was actually taken down by the user who uploaded it (i.e., whatever North Korea's version of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo is), so it wasn't so much a victory for America! as it was a failure of America!'s media fact-checking efforts.

Filed Under: copyright, modern warfare 3, north korea, nuclear, threats, video games

South Korea Arrests Man For Re-Tweeting Oppressive North Korean Government; Wins Ultimate Irony Award

from the isn't-imitation-the-best-form-of-flattery? dept

I have to admit, there are times when I find South Korea immensely confusing when it comes to technology. They appear to embrace the hell out of the more modern view of the music business. They're heavily invested in their population's internet connectivity. Yet they can also get goofy when it comes to intellectual property, such as when they decided patenting their military uniforms was a surefire way of keeping the North Korean military from dressing alike. They've also put in place a mildly enforced version of 3 strikes legislation to appease American entertainment companies.

Admitting all that, however, my surprise has boiled over upon learning that a South Korean man was found guilty of "praising, encouraging or propagandizing" North Korea under their "National Security Law" for tweets associated with his account. His crime? Well, mostly retweeting North Korea's official Twitter account, tweeting out a couple of links to North Korean propaganda songs, and tweeting nonsensical nonsense (is there any other kind?) about their neighbors to the north. Oh, and he also mercilessly mocked the hell out of this country he's accused of supporting as well.

Mr. Park denied praising the North Korean government and said his intention was to lampoon the North Korean regime. In a North Korean post that he tweaked and sent out on Twitter, he replaced a swarthy North Korean soldier's face with a downcast version of his own and the soldier's rifle with a bottle of whiskey.

A freedom of speech advocate, who authorities arrested for mocking governments and generally being a smartass? Huh, you know what? That sounds like something that might happen in North Korea. Just to wrap this up in a neat little bow for everyone, South Korea arrested a man for exercising speech because they incorrectly thought he was propagandizing a despotic country. The irony is so thick here, I can hardly breathe.

In his ruling, the presiding judge, Shin Jin-woo, acknowledged that some of Mr. Park's posts were parody. But he said Mr. Park's overall acts were tantamount to "supporting and joining forces with an antistate entity." The justice said his court suspended the prison term, however, because Mr. Park promised not to repeat his act.

You might read this and think that the court was lenient, suspending his jail sentence. I call BS on that. It isn't lenient to agree not to jail someone in exchange for giving up their rights. Now, lest you think that this speech right doesn't exist in South Korea and I don't know what the hell I'm talking about, that's under intense debate.

The United Nations and human rights groups have called on South Korea for years to repeal or revise the law, which the country's past military dictators had used not only against people suspected of being spies but also against political dissidents. But the law has proved resilient in a society where many fear North Korea, which has launched military provocations against the South in recent years.

See, South Korea today is a Republic. They're supposed to enjoy rights like the freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Oh, freedom of the press, that reminds me, I have to mention the final ironic cherry on top of this irony sundae.

The Twitter account whose posts Mr. Park forwarded is run by the North Korean government Web site, Uriminzokkiri, which the South Korean news media regularly cite in their reports.

That's right, kids. Mr. Park was found guilty of disseminating information from a North Korean Twitter account...that the South Korean press regularly uses to disseminate information. You can't make this stuff up.

Filed Under: free speech, north korea, parody, retweets, south korea

WIPO: Giving Computers For 'Patents' To North Korea And Iran Didn't Violate UN Sanctions... But We'll Stop Doing It

from the you-know,-just-because dept

I still think that one of the craziest stories of the year was the news that the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, was caught defying UN sanctions (despite being a part of the UN) and giving computer systems to both North Korea and Iran -- officially to help both set up a database of international patents. Of course, none of this makes any sense, considering that neither country has shown much, if any, interest in respecting foreign patents. However, both have shown quite a lot of interest in building nuclear bombs... for which they need computing power.

The whole thing should be seen as a massive scandal that calls into question the judgment of those at the top of WIPO -- but it doesn't seem to be fazing too many people. WIPO recently released a statement trying to play down the whole thing, while at the same time admitting that it was changing its policies and likely would stop handing computers over to such regimes based on promises that they'd be used to setup patent databases. In other words, while it won't do it again, leadership there doesn't seem particularly apologetic for its actions.

The provision of standard IT equipment to the IP offices of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Islamic Republic of Iran that occurred in the preceding years, within the context of the Organization’s business modernization program for IP Offices in developing countries, is being referred to the relevant UN Sanctions Committees for their information and guidance.

The initial steps are being undertaken for a full external and independent review of the technical assistance provided to countries subject to UN sanctions.

A new internal instruction has been issued ending any provision of IT hardware in any of WIPO’s technical assistance programs.

It still amazes me that anyone at WIPO thought this was a good idea. The fact that they still refuse to admit doing anything wrong suggests they don't even realize how badly they were played by those governments.

Either way, WIPO boss Francis Gurry did an interview with IP-Watch where he continues to downplay the seriousness of the issue, and also says he doesn't feel any compulsion to respond to the US's stated concerns about the program. He says that they stopped sending the program because of some "ambiguity."

“There’s a relatively small number of countries who benefit from hardware as opposed to our complete software package,” Gurry said. “And since certain member states perceive that there is some ambiguity in the use of standard IT equipment – printers, cartridges, PCs and servers – we think the only complete answer we can give because of their perception of ambiguity is to say, we no longer do that.”

“We can argue for hours and hours and hours about the legal interpretation, that it’s only a few PCs, and so on,” he said. “But if there’s lingering doubt, let's eliminate it.”

Something about that statement reminds me of a particular Monty Python quote. Either way, it still seems like WIPO still doesn't understand why its actions are being questioned here.

Filed Under: computers, francis gurry, iran, north korea, un sanctions, wipo